The Bet
by shitjustgotreal
Summary: Harriet Jones, a female shinigami from the Management Division had a bet with Ronald Knox. The catch? Turn Grell Sutcliff into a full fledged man within one month or do all Ronald's work for him. Easier said than done. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**_Note_**

: _English is not my first language. Apologies in advance or the typos and grammatical errors._

 _ **Disclaimer** : I don't own Kuroshitsuji and its characters._

 _o-o-o_

Harriet Jones didn't know how it started nor what had gotten into her that time she made a bet with that sorry excuse of a shinigami, Ronald Knox.

Perhaps it was the boredom that came with being a female shinigami—not being allowed to go to the mortal realm and reap souls—or maybe it was the reaper alcohol.

It was obviously the latter as the memory of that night was a bit too blurry for her taste.

 ** _Flashback_ :**

There was a year-end party for the grim reapers. Although most of the ones getting promoted were male shinigamis, the population comprises more of the female ones since death cannot be delayed and the male shinigamis are gone reaping souls.

It was exactly how she, a junior of the management department found herself in the corner of a majestic room filled with her fellow shinigamis.

Harriet lets out another sigh before sipping one of the more toxic drinks available.

A party for their kind is rare so when it come reapers enjoy it to the fullest.

Only two hours had passed in their realm, but it felt like a lifetime. Harriet was slowly losing her touch. The drink was addicting and she couldn't stop.

The female shinigami was about to take another sip when a hand snatched her glass away,

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" The girl groggily snapped.

A familiar male shinigami appeared beside her and snatched her glass away. Harriet took a step back and glared at the new arrival,

"Oh it's you."

"You're drunk." the male stated all too obviously.

She frowned, "I am not."

"You are." Ronald replied quickly, smirking at his long-time friend.

"I think I know what I feel way more than you, now give it back!"

Ronald only snickered at his long-time friend and fellow shinigami before gulping down the rest or her drink. This did not amused the girl _at all._

"Do you know what I went through for them to give me a drink?! They won't let me since it's for the _male_ shinigamis. Ugh how annoying."

 _Seriously, the Reapers' society is worse than the one in the mortal realm and that's saying a lot for someone who killed herself because of society._

The blonde-haired shinigami laughed at his friend's antics before taking a seat next to her. Harriet followed mindlessly and took the empty seat next to him.

"So how's work?" Ronald pulls out a bottle seemingly out of nowhere and started drinking from it.

"The usual. Boring as hell."

"Boring as _heaven_ , is what you mean."

Harriet glared at the man, "no. I'm pretty sure the demons are having more fun in those fire pits compared to me."

The two talked mostly about the interesting things that happened to them the past week though it was mostly Ronald who was happily chatting since she had nothing interesting to really tell other than that time when she saw her William getting strangled by a red-haired male.

It was a revolting sight, let me tell you that. But it did made her feel better after being cooped up in her office for a long time.

"—then Sutcliff-senpai literally ran to Sebas-chan and clung to him like a koala!" The boy held his stomach as he laughed.

After he finally calmed down, the two shared a drink and fell back into a comfortable silence, everything was at peace until the giant golden double-door burst open, that is.

A male shinigami wearing a red dress appeared and made a giant entrance for him—err, herself.

Harriet caught sight of the male reapers at the corner of her eyes, all looking ready to bat out from the room literally done with the red head's shit.

She adjusted her glasses and found herself gasping in shock.

"Hey that's the senior I was talking about! He was the one that almost raped William!"

Ronald broke down in laughter, almost spilling his drink. "That's Sutcliff-senpai, the one I was talking to you about too."

Harriet's face scrunched up. She knew that name though never actually knowing what the infamous Grell Sutcliff look like but she heard mostly positive reviews about him being one of the most skilled shinigamis of her time.

Now almost all her respect for the reaper was gone.

"Are you sure he was the same Grell that got higher test scores than William during their academy days?" she inquired reluctanly, her eyes never leaving the red-head currently pole dancing.

Ronald nodded, before turning his gaze at her, "Yeah why, got a crush on 'im?"

It took awhile before her friend's words sunk in and she found herself laughing at his dumb ass.

"Why would I like him—err, her?"

Ronald shrugged, finishing the last bits of his drink. "Hey tell you what, why not make a bet with me?"

His yellowish-green ringed eyes gleamed and Harriet knew he was up to no-good again. Without missing a bit, she drank the last bits of her drink as well before sighing. "Whatever it is, count me out."

"Hey c'mon, it'll be fun. Promise!"

The girl turned to look at Ronald who was grinning at her sheepishly. The boy then came closer and whispered something to her ear.

Harriet had known him since their academy days. They were seatmates and lived in the same building before they graduated from training.

Ronald, pretty much how he is now, was a playboy.

He would change girlfriends faster than he'd change his clothes, surprisingly, he never once hit on her. She was thankful for that of course but found out later that he had admired and respected her enough to know she was not someone to play with. That was the start of their long, genuine and solid friendship.

But there are countless if times she would find herself questioning her tastes in friends. Much like right now,

"You're asking me what?!"

"Hey! You can't back out now! You said yes and that sealed the deal!"

"The fuck you mean I said yeah? You're asking me to turn _that_ —" she signalled at Grell who was now doing waltz "—into a man, _HOW_?"

Harriet was in disbelief. Sure the deal can be quite tempting—Ronald said he'll do her job for a full week with all the repurcussions, and maybe even let her reap souls—but it was simply _impossible_.

"Yep and if I win you're gonna tell Will-senpai you used to have a crush on him. Hey, you should be grateful ya' know, I feel like you're getting all the benefits here. Meh, I'm such a great friend anyways." Ronald shrugged and the girl almost wacked the empty bottle on his head.

"You do know female reapers aren't allowed to go to the mortal world, right? or did your brain finally gave up on you?"

Ronald pouted, "I told you it'll be fun. And IF the seniors found out—hey hey stop pinching me!—I'll budge you out."

Harriet huffed knowing how stubborn her friend is when it comes to these things.

"Alright, what's the catch?"

Ronald's eyes widened. He was about to tell an alibi but the unamused look his friend was giving made him shut his mouth quickly.

"W-Well, there's this girl in your departme—"

Harriet grunted, "then make it two weeks."

For a moment, Ronald didn't seem to catch what she was trying to say.

"Two weeks into my job if I even managed to spark the slightest manliness left of Sutcliff-san. _If_ there is even any."

Her friend visibly brightened and Harriet immediately regretted her words. She just had to give in didn't she?

"Alrighty! Let's set the timer for one month, got it?"

"You know this is impossible on my part, right?"

The man laughed in response. "Hey, just like our probably dead ancestors used to say: _never say never_."


	2. Chapter 2

Harriet knew it was impossible. In fact, killing a demon with a nail-clipper was more pratical than seeing success out of this bet. _It was that impractical._

The female shinigami blames her obnoxious, slash self-proclaimed lover-boy friend everything but she knew it was partly her fault for even agreeing to such deal.

 _Now how do I even start?_

Harriet thought to herself as she wiped the debris on her glasses before putting it on.

Sighing for what seems to be the nth time this day, she finally started with the documents William assigned her to finish tonight.

The girl easily felt at ease and not long, all her focus was on the monitor as she typed everything.

 _Looking back, female reapers are basically discriminated. They thought they could keep us locked all the time, psh. I bet I could collect more souls than any of them in one week._

Harriet gasped, stopping mid-way as the thought entered her mind.

 _No! I won't allow myself to look forward to reaping souls! I should be thinking of winning, not the other way 'round!_

It was at that exact moment of self-loathing that William appeared by the door. "Come to my office."

Sighing for the last time as the man disappeared around the corner, Harriet quickly printed and organized the stack of papers she was working on earlier before following after him.

The woman entered William's office and bowed respectfully at her senior.

"Sir, you rang?"

William pushed his glasses up. "Yes, I believe you have the documents I asked of you, Miss Jones."

The girl pulled out the documents she was working on a few minutes ago and handed it over to William.

"Very well, I appreciate your hard-work, by the way can you—"

The door blasted open and a familiar red-entity suddenly appeared in William's office.

" _WIIIIILLLL~~_ "

 _It felt déjà vu._

Harriet found herself staring at the two grown-up males in front of her. One much more dignified than the other and seem to have past experiences with the same man and successfully dodged the upcoming red ball of sunshine.

It caused Grell to plop down on the floor with a loud thud. Animated tears ran down from his green eyes,

"Will~ you're always so mean to me~" William ignored him, clearing his throat as he looked at the unmoving girl.

"I apologize for the things you have seen, I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Again, thank you for the hard-work. You may go, Miss Jones. You as well, Sutcliff. I have work to do." William said blankly before literally pushing Sutcliff and her out of his office.

Harriet stood awkwardly in front of William's office. She didn't know what just happened, but before she could take a step away, she heard her companion mumbling,

"Why are you so rough with me, Will~?"

Harriet knew he wasn't talking to her nor anyone in particular actuallt but it didn't stop the suddeb pang in her chest and the slight pity slowly creeping up on her.

The girl knew by experience that people, especially shinigamis hated being pitied, it was a universal agreement between them not to interfere with a fellow shinigami's life. They had their fair share of moments and basically, it was the main reason they were even grim reapers in the first place,

but looking at the usually cheerful red-head, she knew he needed at least someone that won't keep him at distance, like how the rest of the male population does to him.

it wasn't particularly her but she may at least try to spread positivity (cue, cringey puking sounds.) —psh, _yeah right_ , coming from her out of all reapers.

"Um, hey senpai." Harriet coughed loudly. It sounded cool in her head when she was rehearsing mentally how to talk to him but now... not so much.

Grell realized he wasn't alone, looking down at the short girl. "Huh?"

Harriet felt her face heat up in embarrassment. Not only was she making a fool out of herself but only now did she realize she was actually talking to one of the nore affluent reapers around. Heck it took awhile to talk normally around William and he was more or less like a walking stick.

"Uhh, I know William or the others may tell you you're annoying sometimes... and um, just so you know it's not true, well for the nost part that is—" she gulped down the last bits of her pride before inhaling a deep breath, "—I think you're awesome!"

Harriet was blushing so much she found her eye sight blurring unwillingly.

Before Grell could even speak, the weird girl ran away from him so fast he could almost see her after-image. _Well that was an over-statement but she literally yeeted away._

To say Grell Sutcliff was speechless was an under-statment but his shock turned into amusement quickly as he realized what just happened.

A chuckled resounded in his chest as he stared at the direction in which the girl had ran off to. _"Eh, interesting girl."_

 _o-o-o_

It took most of her will-power not to drown herself and put her into an even harsher punishment from the divine after she kill herself for the second time.

 _I can't believe I did that! Harriet you idiot!_

The reaper flicked her forehead in annoyance. It took a few more minutes before she finally calmed down and decided to come out from the powder room.

Since grim reapers didn't need to take a bladder breaks, bathrooms are non-existent in their realms. Eating and drinking are both optional as well but female shinigamis still prefer to look presentable, hence with powder rooms near their departments.

Harriet wasn't one to be materialistic nor one to wear make-up compared to her peers but powder rooms had proven useful whenever she needed to hide from Ronald or William.

The girl sighed tiredly.

 _If I'd die again, I'll make sure to drag that wonder-puss Ronald with me._

Pursing her lips in annoyance, Harriet made her way to her department. She could only hope she wouldn't stumble upon Sutcliff anytime soon or so help her.


	3. Chapter 3

Two days had passed when Harriet finally got over the humiliating event.

She was almost done with the documents about the upcoming massacre that will take place at London in a week's time.

 _Seriously, what is up with humans and their eagerness in killing their fellow kinds?_

Typing a few more, the girl finally lets out the relief sigh she was holding as she finished the last bits of her paper work.

The management department was under-staffed and the sudden rise of deaths within the city did not help at all. The remaining workers were doing all they can to finish writing the reports on time.

If she hadn't had the knack for multi-tasking, the reaper was sure she had blown her monitor the moment she started, preferably on her head.

Harriet arranged everything in order before making her way towards William's office. She was about to knock when a presence behind stopped her.

Turning to look behind her, the girl lets out an involuntary gasp but quickly jump a few inches away from them before bowing.

"S-senpai." The red-faced girl suddenly found her shoes interesting, unwilling to have any eye contact with the man in front of her.

Grell lets out an amused laugh before flipping his hair away from his shoulder.

"Ah, it's the weird girl from before. Good to see you."

Suddenly, she regretted not killing herself when she had the chance two days ago, or at least tried to.

"Hm, no need to be embarrassed. Honestly I wasn't expecting anyone to say those to me but it was refreshing to hear nice words once in a while. I prefer if you were a man though."

Grell giggled before he barged into William's office much like he did usually.

Her right eye twitched involuntarily. Harriet followed right behind him but William probably hadn't seen her as he shoved Grell out of the office, causing her to fall down along the pile of documents on her hands.

The girl bowed and apologized before collecting the papers quickly.

Harriet felt embarassed. Seriously, right after what happened two days ago and now this? Grell probably didn't only find her as weird but also reckless and clumsy.

 _Fuck my life... or death... or whatever._

She was too busy collecting the papers that she didn't notice a familiar blonde reaper make his way into the office.

"Yo... Eh? Har?"

Her hands stopped mid-way as she heard the familiar voice of Ronald and she turned around to see his amused phosphorescent eyes staring down at him. The embarassment quickly got replaced with the intent to kill.

Suddenly another pair of those same eyes gazed at her as he helped collect the papers. It was William and the slight disappointment that it wasn't her red-haired senior surprised her that it almost made her lose her balance.

"Sorry about that. I had no idea you were there." William said and Harriet only nodded in reply. She was still confused why she felt the way she did.

"That's because you're tiny, Har. It's not your fault, really, Will-senpai!" Ronald's laughter echoed around the office and she found herself wanting to kick his balls right then and there.

After they collected everything, William gave he documents back to her and she arranged it swiftly. There was exactly fifty-two pages that she had unwillingly memorized while printing it out so it only took her less than a minute to arrange everything back to the way it was.

The girl was so focused in her work she didn't notice the surprised and slightly amazed looks of her two seniors.

Ronald, the ever-attentive one, didn't even bother hiding his smirk. _Harriet you sly woman._

It was William that first broke out from his daze and he cleared his throat.

"Knox, what are you doing here?"

"Hehe, just walking around. What about you guys, are you free later?"

William didn't miss a second, "No. And you—" he pointed at Grell, "—get out of my office."

Grell lets out a dramatic sob, "But Will~ I traveled so far to get here!"

"No one asked you to come."

Their never-ending drama continues.

Everyone could tell the two are close. But Harriet couldn't help notice the space between them. Like a border was there doing its job at pushing the other away.

The sad thing is, they weren't the only ones in the reaper realm that are like this. So close yet still keeping anyone out from being too friendly with them. It was just the way reapers are. They were after all once humans too and humans are not to be trusted.

Grim Reapers are all just weary souls that trusted too much and in exchange broken themselves from doing so.

As their banters continued, she caught a small flicker of hurt in Grell's eyes that it was almost unnoticeable. It was gone the moment it came she wasn't sure if she had been imagining it.

Harriet held the stack of papers in her hand tightly not knowing why she even care. It was definitely **not** because of the damn _bet_.

A few seconds later Ronald bid them good bye, probably got tired of his seniors. Before he could go though, he winked at her.

She replied with a glare (she would have flip him the bird but they were still at William's office so she reluctantly held back) before handing the papers to William.

"Ah, thank you again. You've been a great help." William said sternly (but it was probably just his face) as he put the documents next to the other pile or papers on his table.

Harriet to both William and Grell before taking her leave, closing the door behind her.

Arriving at the corner of the hallway, Harriet briskly hid herself behind the pillar. The reaper had absolutely no idea what she was even doing but she felt like she needed to do this or get her mind eaten by the what if's.

Harriet heard a few comments coming from William followed by Grell's dramatic replies before the red-head was forcedly thrown outside his office.

Biting her lip and trying to stop herself from walking back to her senior and maybe punch him in the face, the female shinigami walked back to her department.

Upon sitting down, she found herself lost in thoughts about Grell. _He's probably lonely_.

The moment she realized her thoughts though, her eyes widened.

Harriet immediately smacked herself. Of course he's lonely! All of them are. Grim Reapers weren't made to become happy, they were there to be _punished_!

For their recklessness, for their decision of ending their life, for forcing death to reach upon them when it's not yet their time— _for wasting life._

They were made to watch countless deaths, to reap souls, to witness records of humans they reap and to be reminded time and time again the mistake they did.

Maybe the female Grim Reapers had it much better than the male population, but she knew they were all equally cursed one way or another.

 _Still_ it didn't mean they were bound to be sad all the time.

Harriet knew she was one of the lucky ones, finding herself some trust-worthy friends like Ronald or even someone like Othello with all his loose screws but one thing's for sure, Grell Sutcliff is still living in the depth of loneliness he once probably lived in as a human despite his carefree persona now.

Harriet looked up, determination clearly written on her face.

 _I will make him see the happiness there is after death._

Forget about the bet, the reaper was bored out of her wits being locked in their realm anyway.

"Ha, I just hope Ronald's death scythe would warm up to me or I'll have to drag the dead souls to heaven myself."

 _o-o-o_

Harriet knew this was a bad idea _. Really, really, bad._

The girl was currently standing in front of Grell's room* holding a self-made red velvet cake.

Although reapers such as herself didn't have the need to eat, their taste buds are still intact compared to angels and demons who had a completely different sense of taste.

Harriet knew she was being pushy and a bit too friendly with a senior she barely knew, but if she was going to comfort a fellow _female_ , no matter what anyone thinks, she'd have to go all out.

But the nagging feeling was still there: _why_ was she even doing this in the first place?

She knew at heart that she wasn't doing this for the bet and to be completely honest, the girl dreamed about reaping souls like her friend ever since they graduated from training. So _why_?

Harriet's thoughts were cut off when loud banging sounds echoed inside Grell's room.

Immediately, millions of negative thoughts passed her.

 _What if he's hurting himself?_

 _What if someone's there and hurting **him**?_

The female shinigami was panicking. Her rationality was thrown out the window as the negative thoughts clouded her judgement and for a moment, she forgot who she was, forgot they were reapers and for that matter, _immortal_.

Without wasting another second, Harriet pushed open the door, ready to fight whoever was in there and save her senpai. But the scene before her made her pause and she cursed herself mentally.

In the bed was none other than a naked Grell, minus his pants which was fortunately still intact (but barely) and a fellow shinigami who was laying in bed, stranded in Grell's arms who was also naked minus for the pants too (but barely).

The two were in a position that may indicate they were in the middle of some _business_ and that business was obviously disturbed by her.

Realizing her mistake, Harriet bowed a full 90 degrees. Her whole body was shaking in embarrassment and her pupils were dilated but her voice didn't crack the slightest bit,

"I DEEPLY APOLOGIZE! PLEASE DO NOT MIND MY INTRUSION AND CONTINUE!"

The reaper was close to fainting that she didn't notice she was running towards the wall in a state of panic, causing her to drop the box she was holding.

Not minding the pain in the slightest even with the blood oozing from her nose ( _it was from the wall I promise!_ ), Harriet stormed out of the room but managed to close the door behind her in a hurry before disappearing to her own room.

There was a long silence in Grell Sutcliff's afterwards, both male reapers too dumb-founded to speak. None broke the silence.

The two stared at each other for a minute, then another, then another, before the entirety of heaven broke loose.


	4. Chapter 4

After an hour of beating each other in both disgust and humiliation, Grell finally let his fellow male shinigami go followed by a sigh of absolute defeat.

"I **cannot** believe I got associated to someone like you in _that_ aspect."

"Excuse me? You were the one on top of me!" Eric spat, equally disgusted and annoyed.

He built his reputation from scratch. Eric was now well-known in the Grim Reaper's society, only to be ruined by a single misunderstanding.

And such a scandalous one at that.

Seriously, having an intimate relationship with _this_ idiot? Eric will have none of that, thank you very much.

His red-haired companion seems to be thinking the same, with pure disgust written all over his face.

Despite everyone's opinion, Grell didn't like just _anyone_. He has high standards for men, even when some of those came from the lower species ( _e.g., Sebas-chan_ ), it doesn't mean he was _that_ thirsty to ride every dick he sees.

And Eric's little Slingby wasn't one he ever dreamed of riding, that's for sure.

"Don't you know why locks in the doors are even invented in the first place?" The blonde frowned, putting on his shirt as he prepared to leave.

"I didn't have a reason to. I don't usually get visitors except today when you decided to stop by. Annoying by the way." Grell rolled his eyes, also putting on his shirt coupled with his red jacket.

 ** _FLASHBACK:_**

Grell just got back from a long tiring solo mission a few minutes ago. He was _so_ ready to jump into the lavatory and take a long well-deserved hot bath and maybe take a nap before he does another round of missions.

Good thing is, he's doing it with a long-time friend and batch-mate, Eric Slingby, this time.

Grell lets out a sigh, he was still a little bit stingy that it wasn't one of the more good-looking men in the department (even Eric's bestfriend, Alan was a better choice).

Still, he supposed he could thank Will he didn't give Grell another bouts of solos. He wouldn't be able to have time to visit Sebas-chan if that persist.

The red-head finished his bath in less than an hour, only wearing his usual go-to-mission pants.

The allocated time of death for his next client is three hours away. He supposed he could take a nap for an hour and get ready the next.

As vain as he was at doing his makeup, he knew better than be late for such an important occasion.

The mission for tonight would be a lot more difficult than his usual missions as it involved some well-known thugs in the human world and their souls would surely pack a fight.

 _Humans_.

He found himself rolling his eyes as he got ready for his nap when a knock resounded through his door.

"Oy Sutcliff! I'm coming in."

Eric didn't even bother waiting for the other's reply as he let himself in.

Grell immediately pulled the blanket to cover his bare chest.

"Excuse me? Don't you have any manners, barging into a woman's bedroom without getting permission first!"

Eric rolled his eyes, removing his suit casually and dropping it on the nearby chair.

"I told ya I'm coming in n' I don't see any women 'round here."

Grell clutched the blanket tightly befoere yanking it down.

"Why are you here anyway? We still have three hours left!"

The red head glared at the man, ready to pull out his scythe any moment in frustration for not getting his most-awaited beauty sleep.

"My room is three floors away and Alan is kinda busy with some woman from the forensics department...hehe..."

Grell's frown deepened and his glare more menacing.

"IT'S NOT MY DAMN FAULT YOUR ROOMMATE IS FUCKING SOMEONE, GET ANOTHER ROOM YOU IMBECILE!"

Eric casually jumped into Grell's bed, obviously ignoring him. He was already feeling comfortable and ready to take a nap, annoying the owner even more.

"YOU ASSHOLE LISTEN WHEN A WOMAN TALKS!"

Grell grabbed the nearby vase and threw it on Eric's head missing only by a few centimeters.

Eric frowned and sat up, not at all amused with his fellow reaper's actions. He was about to tell the red-head to calm his tiddies down but words did not leave his mouth as the owner of the room flew on top of him, ready to strangle him to death... again... if that's even possible.

Though a second later, they both heard the door click and a female shinigami—Eric recognized as one of William's more treasured assistantsand one of Ronald's close friends—stood by the door frozen and shocked evident on her face.

A minute passed and the female quickly apologized, blushing profusely. She obviously misunderstood the whole situation.

The girl bowed (Eric would have applauded her formality and manners if he wasn't in the position he is now) and ran out the door, barely managing to close it before she ran off.

 ** _(End of flashback)_**

Eric was impatiently waiting for Grell by the side of the room.

After the girl left, they had beaten each other up for a completely different reason. After awhile, they got tired and decided to get ready. Neither of them is willing to take a nap beside each other after what happened.

Grell was still busy doing his makeup when Eric caught sight of a small box by the door.

He quickly made his way towards it and was taken aback when he opened it and a cake appeared, still wrapped nicely even after it fell though its design was a bit misplaced, it still look good.

His eyes widened as realization struck him, it wasn't there before he went in.

 _It must be the girl!_

Eric thought but his confusion evidently showed on his face. Why would a junior from the management department leave a cake here? And by the looks of it, a custom-made one.

It definitely wasn't for him (thinking about it, he had never received anything such as this, _ever_. It was often his best-friend _slash_ roommate who experience such luxury) since the girl was obviously not expecting any company other than Sutcliff based on her reaction.

With that, his confusion only grew until Grell came back, fully clothed and ready to go.

Eric stared at him for a full minute, his eyes not leaving the red-head and the other glared ar him. A moment passed when Grell finally noticed the box he was holding.

"Where did you get that?"

The blonde held it up to him and the shorter one of the two slowly took it.

"The girl dropped it. Do you know her?"

Grell's eyes widened in surprise until it was gone after a second as realization dawned on him. He didn't bother holding back his laughter.

Eric's curiosity only grew but he kept silent and waited for his partner to explain, but it never came.

Grell placed the cake on the table near his bed. "Shall we?"

Eric eyed his partner in curiosity as they walked out in an almost cheery manner that wasb't there before. Grell was clearly in a much, _much_ better mood than before and Eric knew it was something to do with either the girl or the cake, or maybe both.

 _o-o-o_

It took them five hours to gather all the souls from the mortal realm and they were beyond exhausted.

Eric was on the verge of passing out on the floor in William's office. Grell was briefing their reports to the said man.

The blonde could only wish—sincerely, truly, _genuinely_ —to The God up there that his roommate at least had the audacity to clean after himself because he refused to sleep on a bed that reeks with sex or a room that smells like one after this long-ass mission.

"Very well, I'll leave you two to your own endeavors. Good work."

Eric tiredly waved a hand, already outside the office as the words left William's mouth. He had to compliment his partner's stamina. Even after everything, Grell still had the energy to flirt with Spears.

The blonde was literally dragging himself towards his room when he caught sight of a beautiful bundle of brunette locks on a small body and she was obviously coming his way.

Realizing this, he quickly stood taller and tried to flex his muscles just for the heck of it. But the woman didn't even notice him. A bit perplexed, he cleared his throat to get the girl's attention.

The moment the girl looked up though, he felt himself freeze.

It was the girl who caught him and Grell in a _not-so-courtly_ position.

Eric blushed in embarrassment, but the memories of the cake stopped him from running to the other route.

Rather, he walked over the small figure and stood straight on her way. The girl, obviously not remembering him, turned towards the left but Eric still blocked her way.

Harriet finally looked up, enough to recognize the man infront of her and she immediately blushed at the intensity of the male's gaze on her.

The heat on her face increased as the memories came flooding in her mind once again. It was something she would have to live with until the end of her long, _long_ life no matter if she liked it or not.

She could only hope Grell's boyfriend would spare her from ruining their lovey-dovey moment.

The male shinigami groaned internally at the look the shorter reaper was making, it was until she suddenly bowed to him shaking in nervousness while sprouting incoherent apologies, that he finally had enough.

"I-I'm s-sorry.. I didn't mean to i-interrupt you two.. I-I swear I didn't see anything other t-than t-"

The girl jumped in shock as a hand rested on top of her shoulder. She closed her eyes tightly as she waited for the blow, but it never came.

Forcing herself to look up, she found herself Eric's similar green eyes staring down at her with the same embarrassment.

"I apologize you had to find us in such... abhorrent fashion but I guarantee it wasn't what you think it was. I'm—we're—not doing anything, you know, _intimate_."

The woman's eyes widened as realization hit her. She just ignorantly accused (though acceptable as it was given the circumstances) her seniors—two of the most distinguished shinigamis in the entire Grim Reaper Society—of being involved in a sexual relationship with each other.

It was more than enough to make her feel shameful and her self-loathing increased by a hundred.

Bowing and apologizing over and over again, Harrier didn't notice another familiar figure coming their way.

"Eric, what did you do now?"

The brunette jumped in surprise as the sound of the ever familiar voice reached her ears.

She couldn't stop the horrified expression making way into her face as she looked up, and without a beat, Grell Sutcliff stared down at her, tilting his head ever so slightly.

After a moment though, he placed a hand on top of her head that made her blush a thousand times more,

"This idiot didn't harass you, did he?"

Harriet couldn't hear nor feel anything other than her senior's hand on the top of her head.

She was horrified for a minute that maybe he could feel the heat from her head but she quickly dismissed the idea and only looked down. Harriet doesn't trust herself enough to speak yet.

The two men talked to each other casually. Harriet thought she heard Grell reprimanding Eric to stop scaring women off and go bother someone else coupled with Eric's annoyed replies.

It was a few seconds later when the blonde waved a hand in front of her face and Harriet instantly snapped out from her little trance,

"Hey ya' okay?"

Harriet's face flushed bright red. She had no doubt it was now similar in color with Grell's hair but still she stopped herself from further making a fool of herself and nodded, still not trusting herself to speak.

"Hey idiot, I thought you're tired, go and get some rest, you look like you're gonna pass out any minute now. Don't make me kick you."

Grell made a shoo-ing motion at his partner with a chary look.

Eric still had a lot of questions in mind, like who was this woman to Grell and why is the red-head seem more concerned about the girl than anyone Eric had ever known?

The sudden existence of this girl perplexed him more than anything and he was dying to know what was up with Grell and the girl?

But he was more than sure it wasn't anything romantic or near that

Almost everyone (demons, angels, humans, maybe even God himself) knows Grell Sutcliff is not a man of those caliber... or if he was even a man in the first place.

Eric lets out a groan as the onset of a migraine came up. Maybe he was just over-analysing things; thinking too hard for something that wasn't even there.

Anyway, he was too tired for all this shit.

Eric lets out a yawn before waving a hand lazily.

"I'm off. I'll see ya when I see ya." And he was gone.

For the first time, Harriet wished Eric didn't leave or maybe at least took Grell along with him.

"So Harriet, right?"

She looked up and stared at her senior in silence for a few seconds before nodding her head. Her head was finally calming down.

"Why are you so stiff? Eric already told you we weren't anything like what you thought, right? And it's not like I like him anyways, a real man knows how to shave properly for goodness' sake!"

Grell crossed his arms seemingly unaffected by everything. Harriet found herself relaxing bit by bit.

"I'm sorry I barged in like that. It was rude of me, you and Eric-san didn't have to explain anything to me, it was my fault anyway."

Harriet scratched the back of her head, trying to avert her gaze away from her senior.

Silence followed and she felt her legs itching to sprint off and hide somewhere far, _far_ away.

Maybe hell was a much better place than this place where anyone wouldn't find her easily.

Harriet was broken out from her thoughts when the same smooth fingers that once sat atop her head now held her chin gently.

Grell made her meet his gaze head-on.

"Thank you for the cake by the way."

Grell lets out a genuine smile and she couldn't help but stare in astonishment. She was literally frozen on her spot.

The brunette knew he was incredibly good-looking, even beautiful. But being _this_ close to him confirmed her ideas.

Her senpai was absolutely stunning though she was unsure about the burning sensation in her stomach with the close proximity between them, after all she had been close to other guys before too.

"I-it's okay...I... I hope you like the it. I made a red velvet since I heard you like the color red the most. Umm, you don't have to eat it if you don't want—"

Her voice felt small and her heart felt like it was about to explode. Grell was literally looking at her with an intense gaze, like he was searching for something.

He did not remove his hands from her face too and that made her want to cry right then and there. She had never been one for these things.

Harriet was busy trying to look anywhere but him when Grell pulled her face closer to his.

She lets out a small gasp at the sudden closeness and her sight blurred instantaneously.

Only second had passed but it felt like hours when she felt a light weight on her forehead followed by a soft almost smooth sensation and she mentally screamed upon realizing what it was.

GRELL WAS KISSING HER. (Well, her forehead but—asdfghjkl)

Harriet felt like exploding inside. Even when he took a step back.

The girl didn't think it was possible for her face to heat up even more than it already was but when Grell lets out an amused chuckle and winked at her, she felt like this must be why Ronald loved being with the opposite gender so much. It felt suffocating, but the happiness was there.

" _Though I prefer it if your were a man_ _."_

Grell whispered in her ear before walking the opposite way, leaving the girl in a confused, close to breaking down, almost dying state.

Harriet stood solid in her exact position ten minutes later until her brain finally shut down and she fainted.


	5. Chapter 5

A few days had passed since the memorable incident and the woman involved was evidently still stressing over it.

 _This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't come to his room in the first place!_

The brunette huffed in frustration and annoyance, clutching her head as she felt the tiniest inkling of an incoming headache.

Not only did the memory of the kiss— _that damn kiss_ —left her feeling jumpy everytime it entered her mind, the girl simply didn't have the time because the documents William asked of her were yet to finish and her feelings didn't help at all.

 _Alas_ , all efforts were thrown out the window as a certain memory kept appearing in the back of her mind deeply engraved in her brain not wanting to be forgotten anytime soon.

Unbeknownst to the woman, a fellow reaper was watching her with the same bright phosphorescent eyes in extreme amusement and mirth.

The male was standing by the corner of the big office of her department eyeing the brunette silently as she tried to concentrate on the monitor in front of her.

She would show funny expressions. One moment she would be staring blankly at tyhe computer then the next she would be glaring at it like it was someone she knew.

Her mini, silent tantrums was getting more and more entertaining.

The man couldn't help but let out another chuckle as Harriet grumbled curses and profanities to no one in particular.

He would have stayed longer but he was needed somewhere else. With one last look, he left without anyone spotting him.

 _o-o-o_

Harriet lets out a sigh of relief as William finally dismissed her. She didn't believe in miracles before but after finishing her work, she was now an avid believer. There was no damn way she could have finished those documents without some sort of miracle if her mind had any say in it.

The reaper lets out a long sigh. She was so tired, mentally exhausted from thinking way too much these past few days. And what a way to worsen her already sour mood than the appearance of her (best) friend.

She takes it back. She no longer believes in miracles.

 _HARRIET-CHAN~"_

As predicted, a bright flash of black and yellow appeared in front of her and without any restraints, she was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug.

"The fuck you want, Ronald?"

The shorter reaper hissed as she was released from his clutch. Harriet closed her eyes tightly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

The two started walking together quietly.

"Someone's in a bad mood~"

The brunette found herself holding back the impressive vocabulary she didn't know she had as she glared at Ronald.

"Very perceptive. I am proud."

"Hm, why are you looking so down anyway? We should celebrate. You're finally getting to something from our bet."

The woman stilled and her companion smiled at her mischievously. She was lucky the hallway was empty right now because killing a fellow shinigami was getting more tempting every passing second.

"What? You don't think I'll never know? Come on Har, how long have we been friends? You should know better than anybody I have eyes all over the place." Ronald shrugged sheepishly.

After a few seconds, Harriet finally calmed down and she lets out a sigh.

"It was Othello, innit?"

They _had_ been close to the forensics department at that time, so...

Ronald stared at his friend in disbelief but he instantly tried to correct his composure—trying to look confident like he was a few seconds ago but failing miserably—and cleared his throat,

"W-Well he told me a few things **BUT** that doesn't mean I wasn't going to know!"

Harriet lifted a brow and she could see a sweat drop down from his forehead.

"I have other, uhh, spies around here. Yeah that's it!"

A sigh broke out from her, already thinking of ways how to at least put the man in coma and where to hide his body.

"What the hell did that crazy ass tell you?" Harriet crossed her arms as she waited for Ronald to explain.

"I was out collecting souls these past week and it involved some scientific shit. I had no idea what all those are about but hey, that's what the forensic department's all about! Anyway, imagine my shock when Othello-senpai told me how he saw you and Sutcliff-senpai kissing in the middle of the hallway! KI-S-S-I-N-G! Damn girl, didn't know you had it in ya'."

Ronald burst out in laughter but he was instantly on the floor clutching his abdomen as a hard jab landed on his side. "What was the for?!"

Harriet, with all her patience and exceptional control over her emotions, was a mess

It started way back when she and the idiot in front of her currently howling—quite dramatically—in pain made a bet. And one that involves a well-known red-haired reaper.

Harriet didn't know why, or had any idea why she even feels like this whenever a certain senior of her's was near or simply mentioned.

But now, two of her closest friends (honestly, her only friends) caught her doing something she never thought she would ever be doing. Like I don't know, receiving a kiss from Grell ( _It was only on the forehead damn it!_ _asdfghjkl_ ).

Sighing in shame, Harriet pushed her bangs away from her eyes. "We didn't kiss.. _like that_. It wasn't even a kiss, just a peck on the forehead."

Ronald looks at her slyly, all pain forgotten. He stood up and casually placed an arm around her. "Hey, you don't have to be shy about it. Tell me all the juicy details. Was he a good kisser?"

Ronald wiggled his eyebrows and Harriet found her entire body warm up—not because of embarrassment like the former—but because of the growing anger for the man beside her.

"Shut up you dickhead!"

The girl swiftly pulled away from Ronald's grasp, twisting his arm without haste before proceeding to kick and punch him animatedly, though none really hurt him seriously.

"Okay okay i'm sorry! I won't tease you anymor— HEY PUT THAT DOWN!"

Ronald's eyes widened in fraction as his bestfriend approached him with a large vase.

 _Where_ _did she even get that?!_

He released a sigh of reliefe when Harriet finally placed the vase down.

 _That could've given me a serious head-ache.._.

The male was busy wiping the sweat that formed on his forehead when he spotted someone familiar by the end of the hallway.

"HEY HUMPHRIES-SENPAI!" Ronald screamed, waving frantically.

 _As if the guy wouldn't spot someone as loud as you._ Harriet thought as she relaxed quietly.

A male reaper with dark brown locks made his way over them. "Ronald, Harriet." he nodded in acknowledgement.

Harriet bowed in formality. Alan was one of her seniors alongside Eric, but compared to the two, the brunette was far more impassive and colder, though she can never be too sure since she never had any encounters with the latter except for the times he would ask her where William was ( _Seriously, is she William's mum?_ ).

If she could pick one among the two though, she'd pick the aggressive bearded blonde anytime.

Something just doesn't feel right whenever Alan's around. He always look cold and scary (but it was probably just his face).

"Did you finish your mission report?" Ronald asks the older man.

"Yes. I'm on my way to William's office right now. Have you seen Sutcliff?"

Her ears immediately perked up. She caught herself just in time though and forced herself to act natural.

 _What_ _the heavens is wrong with me?!_

She was broken out from her thoughts as she heard Ronald snicker. The girl glared up at him but immediately turned away as she realized Alan was still there.

"I haven't seen him around. _Have you, Har?_ " Her friend chortled and she found her face heating up.

Ah, she was gonna kill Ronald after all.

"No I haven't. Maybe he's at William's office?" Harriet scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.

Alan gazed down at her, his eyes betrayed nothing of his thoughts. Harriet could feel a shiver ran down her spine.

Ronald who was ever oblivous when it comes to these things kept talking in the background, it was only when a figure appeared behind her and Ronald and hooked their arms around them that he stopped.

"You're looking for me, cutie?"

Harriet could feel her entire body freeze at the sudden contact accompanying the familiar voice.

"Oh Sutcliff-senpai, you're here." Ronald grins.

The girl turned to look beside her but her entire body tensed when she realized Grell's face was only a few centimeters away from her face.

 _I think I'm going to puke._ She thought as the emotional baggage she's been holding for almost a week exploded within her with Grell's sudden appearance.

Thankfully the subject of her head (and heart) ache decided to jump over Alan, wrapping his arms around the stoic man instead.

"Are you finally going to ask me out? You know I'm always ready for you."

Alan breaths out a sigh of defeat, followed by pushing up his glass (just a habit, really).

"We have work to do, actually. Let's go."

Ronald asked them what the mission entails and if it was about the sudden deaths in London, etc; the three reapers fell into a conversation but one woman in particular was still frozen in place, staring at nothing but the ground.

Her heart was beating faster and faster within each passing seconds having no idea why. It wasn't like she's running or doing any extravagant activities.

And then it struck her as realization sipped into her mind.

She didn't even notice the three pairs of green eyes staring at her in a mix of confusion, amusement and the other, plain undecipherable.

.. _.I'm falling for Grell aren't I? Wait this can't be happening no no n_ —

"—ar... **HAR!** "

She jumped in surprise as she looked up to her best-friend. Her embarrassment only grew tenfold as she realized the three has stopped talking and are now staring at her.

"What?"

"I asked if you want to come with us." Ronald raised a brow, though not a way that is unknowing, but more like "snap out of it (idiot)!"

Thanks, Ronald. 'appreciate it.

"Oh, where to?" she asks, tilting her head slightly.

"To see us off~" Grell grinnned showing those sharp teeth that shouldn't be as attractive as they are now. _Fuck_.

Her face warmed even more but she refused to show any kind of reaction. She wouldn't give Ronald the satisfaction.

Bowing slightly, she quickly thought of something to get her away from there as soon as possible.

"I apologize but I still have some things I need to finish."

Harriet thought she saw Grell's smile falter for a millisecond but it was gone as soon as it came. Maybe it was just her imagination...

"Do you want me to come with ya?"

Ronald offered but Harriet immediately shook her head before waving a hand in front of her. "Nah, my room's close."

"Then I'll see ya later, 'kay?"

She nodded and the three reapers turned around and ambled their way towards their destination. The girl finally released an inaudible sigh she didn't realize she's been holding before turning around the opposite way.

An idea came to mind though and before she could take another step away, a sudden burst of determination flowed within her. Harriet turned around once again, running towards the three men.

Ronald was eagerly telling Alan some stories about girls he'd met and trying to compare it to Alan's latest girlfriend while Grell stayed behind, uncharacteristically quiet.

Ronald would have been at his side then and there if it was any other day but right now, he couldn't care less: he was standing beside his idol slash senior after-all.

If there was anyone who could relate to him when it comes to certain activities that involves the opposite sex, it would be the brunette and Ronald wanted to show-off.

Grell was silently walking behind the two blabbering idiots when someone held the end of his jacket tightly.

He briskly turned around and found two pair of green eyes staring back at him, her growing blush slowly becoming more evident on her face and small slender hands nervously holding the ends of the red fabric.

For the first time in a long time, Grell found himself lost for words.

It was silent for awhile, time seemingly stopped when the girl finally talked or more like... _squeaked_.

"S-Stay safe, senpai... I know you're strong and skilled and amazing but be careful! Come back s-soon... hehe, yeah... BYE!"

Harriet bowed quickly before running in a speed that could rival that of Sebastian's and disappeared around the corner.

Grell stood in the same spot for a solid minute before his two fellow Reapers realized he was no-where near them and decided to check up on him.

"Hey senpai~ you okay?" Ronald waved a hand in front of the red-head's face and the man immediately snapped out from his stupor

"Yeah, let's go."

Grell walked in front of them, almost in a hurry. The two males shared a look before following their companion to William's office.

The brunette fell down on her knees, as she gasped for air. Her face still red in embarrassment rather than the extreme running she did a couple minutes ago.

 _You_ _dumb girl. Now what would he think of you?!_

Harriet pulled her hair out in frustration. Just when she thought she was finally getting over herself, she does things that reverts her back to level one.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot, idio—"

"Are you talking about yourself? Because I'm sure you're nothing of that sort. Well, maybe a little."

Harriet jumped in surprise at the sudden voice and she was instantly up. A gasp escaped her as the stranger held his hands out for her.

Harriet snubbed the stranger's greeting and quickly jumped on the man's embrace.

"Oh my goodness, what are you doing here? When did you arrive?"

The person laughed in amusement. "Our branch needed some reports regarding the latest deaths in our area, it involved some Englishmen. And I've been here since this morning, you know. I even came to your office."

"WHAT? Why didn't you call for me then?" Harriet's eyes widened for a split second, before it was replaced by a frown.

"You seem preoccupied, I didn't want to break your concentration." The man chortled as memories of her throwing mini tantrums came into mind. The girl seem to realize this as well and she pouted, slapping the person's arm jokingly.

"So, where's your partner?"

"At Othello's."

Harriet laughed at this. "Those two dorks are catching up, huh? Tea?"

She entered her room swiftly, welcoming her companion inside.

"Ah, by the way, _here_." the man said before pulling out something from behind him.

Harriet peeked at her visitor as he closed the door behind him, seeing the object he was handing over to her made her break into a laughing mess.

"Hey what's so funny?" The man frowned, slightly offended.

"Sorry sorry, it's just funny how you give the same thing whenever you visit yet completely different each time." she grinned, receiving the bouquet of Amaryllis flower.

It smelt divine like always.

The man chuckled. "A proper gentleman should give his visitee a flower as a sign of gratitude for letting him enter her place."

Harriet chuckled. "That only happens in Germany it would seem."

The man lets out a chuckle, "This is why I told you to transfer to the German branch."

All thoughts from her former rendezvous forgotten as she put the flowers in an empty vase.

"Thanks, Ludger."

"You are welcome. Now pour me cup some hot choco."

She chortled, "Yes, sir."


End file.
